Evaluation visit
Prepared by the MSCHE co-chairs, Dr. Margaret Kierylo, AVP, Integrated Planning and Assessment and Dr. Manijeh Mannani, Interim Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Accreditation is a process intended to strengthen and sustain higher education, making it worthy of public confidence. Athabasca University was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 2005. AU was the first Canadian public university to be accredited by one of the six U.S. regional commissions. Through the accreditation process, AU demonstrates its commitment to continuous self-assessment and improvement. Accreditation is a peer-reviewed process, meaning that AU is evaluated by other higher education institutions who hold Middle States accreditation status.
Every eight years, an accredited institution must undertake a comprehensive review of its operations, through a self-study process. AU engaged in a self-reflective analysis of its adherence to Middle States Requirements of Affiliation and Standards for Accreditation. There are two over-riding goals of the self-study: Re-accreditation and Institutional Improvement. The final Self-Study can be accessed here.
The Self-Study began in fall 2018 when AU was invited to attend the Self-Study institute. Co-chairs were appointed in spring 2019, and eight Working Groups of over 40 AU faculty, members of administration, students, and staff began collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the institution against the fifteen Requirements of Affiliation and seven Standards for Accreditation. The work concludes with a visit by an evaluating team at the end of this month (March 28-31).
The Visiting Team comprises faculty and administrators who have experience with the accreditation process at their respective college/university or have served on the evaluating teams for other colleges/universities. The Visiting Team will be chaired by Dr. Peter Smith, Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at University of Maryland Global Campus. The other members of the evaluating team are:
Dr. Tai Arnold, Vice Provost for Student Success and Retention SUNY Empire State College
Prof. John Stephen Butcher, Director, Access, Open & Cross-Curricular Innovation Open University
Mr. Jeffrey Scott Harmon, MBA Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness Thomas Edison State University
Dr. Carlos E. Irizarry, Director-School for Graduate Studies and Research Inter American University of Puerto Rico San German Campus
Dr. Janet Kane, Professor Emerita Immaculata University
Mr. Billy Khokhar, Head of Student Support in Academic Services Open University
Dr. Nicole R. Stokes, Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion/ Full Professor Sociology Saint Joseph's University
The Visiting Team reads the Self Study report and all the information AU has prepared to address the Middle States’ Standards. The duration of the Team’s is three-and one-half days (March 28-March 31). The Team will meet with administrators, faculty, students, and staff to talk about AU, address any questions from the self-study, and learn more about how AU fulfills its mission.
Read the Self-Study. Talk to your colleagues in your faculty or department. Reflect on what you and your faculty/unit do to fulfill the MSCHE Standards. If you have questions, reach out to the co-chairs to learn more.
Respond promptly to requests for information or additional meeting by the Visiting Team. Be prepared to talk about how your faculty/department/unit supports AU’s mission and the MSCHE Standards.
Additional evidence requested by the Visiting Team must be uploaded to the MSCHE Portal within 7 calendar days of the visit.
Next steps include:
- April 27, 2021 - Visiting Team Chair submits the Final Team Report to AU.
- May 4, 2021 - AU sends the Formal Institutional Response.
- May 11, 2021- Visiting Team Chair submits to MSCHE Confidential Brief which presents the Team’s proposal for Commission action.
The Visiting Team Chair is scheduled to present the brief at a commission meeting on Thursday, June 3, 2021. AU’s accreditation status will be determined at this meeting. The action of the Commission will be communicated in writing to the Interim President (usually on or about June 30), and will be accompanied by an updated Statement of Accreditation Status, which will also be publicly available on MSCHE's website.
The Commission may take the following actions.
- Reaffirm accreditation (without any required follow-up reporting)
- Reaffirm accreditation and request a follow-up report, without a visit from a MSCHE Vice President or a small team.
- Reaffirm accreditation and request a follow-up report, with a visit from a MSCHE Vice President or a small team.
- Reject the reaccreditation report and request resubmission within a short timeframe.
- Postpone the decision in order to request supplemental information.
- Warning, probation or show cause, which indicate that the university does not meet one or more accreditation standards or requirements and may be in jeopardy of losing its accreditation.
If you have any questions about the Evaluation Visit, please reach out to Dr. Kierylo at mkierylo@athabascau.ca or Dr. Mannani at manijehm@athabascau.ca.
Updated July 06, 2021 by Digital & Web Operations, University Relations (web_services@athabascau.ca)